Activity for October 1

Review - Google SketchUp for Windows
7.1.4871 (Sep 23, 2009)

I've been using SketchUp since the @Last days and have used it for planning the building of everything from furniture to remodelling of my house. It's free, easy to learn and use, it's brilliantly effective and runs on Windows XP, Vista & 7. Highly recommended.
Review - Corel WinDVD 2010
10.0 (Sep 17, 2009)

There were only two reasons to use WinDVD: upscaling and TrimensionDNM.
Without these two features WinDVD was a complete waste of time. It's nice to see that v. 2010 is a much nicer and smoother player. Yes, it's big and the download may seem bulky, but after starting to hate the previous versions, this newest one surprised me by how good the program really is. It's not quite perfect yet, but it is excellent and very much better than v.9.
If you've come to hate WinDVD because of the older versions, try this one and you may love it again.
I can't give it 4.5 out of 5, so I'm giving it 5.
Review - Maxthon (v3)
3.0.0.112 Alpha 3 (May 26, 2009)

Grow some brains, you morons. Dissing an alpha is like walking onto a construction site and saying that the unfinished house is uninhabitable.
You obviously have no idea of the concept of development.
Review - Maxthon (v2)
2.5.1.4751 (Updated) (Feb 11, 2009)

As much as I adore Maxthon - I use nothing else for its unrivaled customisability - this one still has some minor bugs: most notably, page redraws cause the screen to flash to desktop for a small fraction of a second and there can be some hanging problems with a select few websites.
This update doesn't appear to fix anything so stick with a slightly older version (pre-2.5.1.*) if you have it.
Review - Corel WinDVD 2010
8.0.6.109 R3 (Mar 28, 2007)

Version 6 was ok, v7 was great but v8 is shockingly bad.
The download is huge, and doesn't even contain everything you need to run the product: you'll still have to download over 50MB of DirectX components (unless they're already installed by another application).
Half the features do not function, such as TrimensionDNM, and the player is unstable even with the Platinum license on a high-spec PC.
If you're running WinXP, you're best off using WinDVD 7. Unfortunately, you'll need WinDVD 8 if you're running WinVista, so I'd recommend a different programme altogether.
Comment - Windows Mobile 5 and 6 get a new interface
8.0.6.109 R3 (Oct 1, 2009 - 7:36 AM)

My personal HTC Touch has never given me a single error, nor have any of the 50+ apps I run on it. It has never crashed or frozen. It's smooth and handles all I've thrown at it. Our company uses HTC Touch Diamonds running WM6 as our company phones and we've had no problems. Maybe they're crap just in the US were everyone wants an obscenely overpriced iPhone... which still bends you over a barrel for trying to sync with Outlook and which until recently couldn't even sent a picture message. So who is the loser, really? WM may have it's problems like any product from any manufacturer but it's hardly the disaster you think it is.
Comment - Windows Mobile 5 and 6 get a new interface
8.0.6.109 R3 (Oct 1, 2009 - 7:17 AM)

The big clocks are one option of many. That's the beauty of SPB Mobile Shell... it's fully customisable to your liking. I've used it since 2.1 and I love it because I can set it to look just the way I like.
I take it your phone can't show any interface but the one that it's creator gave it? Such a shame for you. How about you try the software before bashing it?
Comment - Jammie Thomas-Rasset infringed, says jury; fined $80,000 / song
8.0.6.109 R3 (Jun 19, 2009 - 9:40 AM)

You're right, Sadien, to say that I don't fully understand this. The law doesn't work like that where I'm from. But it isn't the guilt that I've a real problem with. I don't dispute that she deserves some sort of punishment. It's the extent of punishment I simply cannot fathom. It is (at least, to me) indefensibly excessive & unjustifiable.
If she had downloaded (and redistributed) tens of thousands of songs, then I could understand such a figure. But $1.92m for two dozen songs? How is that justice?
Still, since in the US you can get sued by a burglar for injuries he sustained while robbing you and lose (and pay him millions), you can get a judgment like Ms. Thomas-Rasset.
Comment - Jammie Thomas-Rasset infringed, says jury; fined $80,000 / song
8.0.6.109 R3 (Jun 19, 2009 - 6:11 AM)

Kill or rape... and you're free in under 5 years for good behaviour.
Download some songs... and you're f****d for life.
I'll be amazed if this verdict holds on appeal. I would never pay it. It's excessive and not representative of the crime it barely is.
And I wouldn't be surprised if the evidence was tenuous at best.
Comment - Skyfire 1.0 mobile browser launches today
8.0.6.109 R3 (May 28, 2009 - 5:42 AM)

I've been using Skyfire since last October. I've tried every mobile browser I could find, and this one is the best in my opinion. The beta version had a couple of minor issues (Flash played a bit slow) but this new one is fast and every easy to use, especially on a touchscreen phone. I highly recommend it.